Online Class: Geology 101

Geology is the study of the world around us and the way it was formed. The study expands beyond the earth and includes the building blocks of the whole universe. Without the study of geology, it would have been very difficult to build the modern world around us. For one thing, it would have been impossible to locate building materials for our roads, houses, and office buildings. Without ready access to metals like gold, we would never have been able to make the wide range of electrical devices like cell phones and digital cameras that we all depend on.

An understanding of geology and the Earth's systems has become critical in a wide range of fields. It's not just miners, oil riggers and college professors who study the story of the rocks: it is also civil engineers, architects, urban planners, government officials, and investors.

In this course, you will learn about: Geology History; Fossils and Earth History--Geologic Time; Fossils and Earth History--The  Eons and Eras; Rock types; Geomagnetism; Plate Tectonics; Recycling and Renewal; Erosion; The Rock Cycle; Rocks and Minerals; Gemstones and Mining.

Course Motivation

Geology is all about the earth. It is the study of the world around us and the way it was formed. In the broader scope of things, the study expands beyond the earth and includes the building blocks of the whole universe. It is the study of rocks, minerals, volcanoes, tsunamis, landslides, asteroids, ancient history, the future ahead of us, and the ground we are standing on today. Without the study of geology, it would have been very difficult to build the modern world around us. For one thing, it would have been nearly impossible to locate building materials for our roads, houses, and office buildings. Without ready access to metals like gold, we would never have been able to make the wide range of electrical devices like cell phones and digital cameras that we all depend on today. 

But the study of geology is about more than just identifying rocks or finding mineral deposits. It is the study of how all of Earth's systems work together so that we can work with nature instead of against it, and we can have a better grasp of the future implications of our actions on the world around us.

Even if you do something you think is totally unrelated to geology, the forces of the Earth impact your life every day, and you impact the Earth, as well. Understanding, for example, that everything you rinse down your sink, flush down a toilet, or pour into the grass will eventually return to the groundwater and end up in the glass you pour from the kitchen sink, might make you think differently about the next sip of water you drink. Every day, politicians and people on the news talk about saving the environment and protecting the ozone layer. They talk about global warming and climate change, they want to get you to vote for them based on their statements about Earth Science. In order to make an informed decision, it is important for everyone to understand what a complex and powerful set of systems make up our Earth, and to understand that there are still a huge number of unanswered questions about how all the pieces work together.

This course will not be able to answer all of those questions, since the top researchers in the world are still trying to answer them themselves, but it will help you get a basic understanding of the many forces at work on the Earth. If there is one constant on this planet, it is change.